


Moving On Takes Time

by lokiswritings (emilyswritings)



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-09 07:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18633874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyswritings/pseuds/lokiswritings
Summary: The Avengers Compound was a depressing scene. Thor sat slumped on a chair, wolfing down a sandwich. Nat was furiously rifling through some papers, trying to find something of Tony’s that could at least provide some answers. Bruce and Rhodey were trying to figure out what that pager that Fury left behind was for. Rocket was listening to old songs on an iPod he’d found, losing himself in the nostalgia. And Steve… was being himself - trying to keep up morale despite also feeling helpless.





	1. The Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> This contains Avengers: Endgame Spoilers!!

“Some people move on, but not us.”

Missing persons posters and crashed cars decorated the streets; it was like a scene from a dystopian novel. Half the universe was gone. Thanos succeeded. No longer did people hear the birds singing; no longer did they see dogs out on their walks, happily wagging their tails; no longer did they have hope. If the Avengers - the people they relied on - could not stop Thanos, no one could.

The Avengers Compound was a depressing scene. Thor sat slumped on a chair, wolfing down a sandwich. Nat was furiously rifling through some papers, trying to find something of Tony’s that could at least provide some answers. Bruce and Rhodey were trying to figure out what that pager that Fury left behind was for. Rocket was listening to old songs on an iPod he’d found, losing himself in the nostalgia. And Steve… was being himself - trying to keep up morale despite also feeling helpless. He’d lost his best friend and the love of his life because of Thanos. He’d channel his rage by obliterating the punch bags in the gym, but that wasn’t enough. Four times. Four times he’d lost Bucky. First when he fell off the train, when Bucky went on the run after SHIELD collapsed, when he went into cryo after the airport fight, and now to the snap. But what infuriated Steve most was the fact that this time everyone lost. Not just the entire world, but the entire universe. All because of one titan’s completely illogical and irrational plan. How does wiping out all living things, including the plants and animals that provide food, fix anything?

Meanwhile, in the ass end of space, Tony and Nebula were trying to fix the Guardians’ ship. Comms were down, so there was no way they could get a message back to Earth, and things were looking pretty grim. Oxygen was running out and all they could do was wait for a rescue that would never come. So Tony recorded one final message. He didn’t know for certain that it would reach Pepper and the others, but it was the only thing he could do.

“Hey Pep... I know you told me not to go on the big spaceship and you probably hate me right now, but I couldn’t leave the kid there by himself. A lot has happened since then,” he let out a small chuckle. “We fought Thanos. Out of all of the people I was fighting with - some weird magician, a few aliens, Peter, and another human - _I_ was the one who managed to hurt Thanos. But we failed. We all failed. We all lost. Now I’m looking at certain death, there’s no oxygen left, and the ship isn’t even moving. But the view from up here is spectacular. I should send you a postcard. I love you so much.”

He paused. It’s not everyday that you record your last message to your friends.

“Steve. Steven. Cap. I was never good at the whole teamwork thing and you know it. Leading people, making sure morale is high… I’m too blunt for that. But you make a great leader. And don’t think that I’m not still pissed about you lying to me, but I don’t blame Bucky. He was brainwashed. It happens. And to the rest of you… good luck out there. We were awesome while it lasted.”

Sighing, he turned off the recorder, found a blanket hidden amongst the mess of the ship, and drifted off to sleep.

 

Except he didn’t sleep for very long.

An overwhelmingly bright light woke him up. His vision was slightly blurred so all he could make out was a figure that was… glowing. She was definitely human, though. And she had a cool suit. Without a word, she pushed the ship through space; this immensely powerful woman was Tony and Nebula’s salvation. They weren’t going to die after all.

It only took a few hours for Tony and Nebula to be returned to Earth. The surviving Avengers all ran out to the courtyard, realising that someone had found them. She carefully escorted the ship down to the ground, and out came Tony and Nebula, clinging on to each other for support. It had only been a few days, but the injuries that they had accumulated and the lack of food and running out oxygen really put a strain on them. Especially Tony. Although it wasn’t his first time in space, every time he looked out at the vast abyss of nothingness he was reminded of New York, of how he almost died saving the people from the nuke.

Rocket walked over to Nebula, who was looking awkwardly at the ground. They didn’t say anything, he just silently held her hand. They were the only Guardians left. Pepper ran over to Tony, engulfing him in a hug while a few tears rolled down his cheek. Both of them had been through so much together but every time they thought they were going to lose each other, it just got more difficult. Steve smiled softly; the others stood there in awe and shock. Even after the fight at the airport and the whole “civil war” they were indebted to Tony.

“I lost the kid,” Tony said quietly, memories of Peter’s death flooding back.

“We all lost, Tony. But we’ll get them back.” Steve’s continuous optimism was painful. They’d failed the first time, and Thanos was capable of anything, with or without the stones. So hearing those words did nothing to make Tony feel better.

“No, Rogers, we won’t. We failed. We lost. I spent almost a month floating in space with no hope. You have _no_ idea what that does to a person.”

Steve was taken slightly aback, as were the rest of the group, but Tony was right: they didn’t know what it was like to go through that, and Tony was evidently very distressed because of it. They took him back to the compound so he could get proper medical treatment and some rest. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but nonetheless everyone was somewhat at ease knowing that Tony was alive.


	2. Retirement

The following days were uneventful (something that the Avengers team valued as it gave them time to take a break from saving the world). Carol introduced herself to everyone, explaining that it was her that Fury contacted and how she knew him. Tony was recovering from his time in space, Nebula explained what happened on Titan, and what Thanos’s plans were post-snap. He was the only one satisfied with what he did, the only one who was happy about committing mass genocide across the  _ entire _ universe. Everyone else was filled with sadness and revenge. Friends, family, pets, neighbours had all disappeared into dust and the Avengers were busy formulating a plan to take down Thanos and undo everything he had done.

“Thanos is busy enjoying himself on a nice little planet, not even trying to help people rebuild. Either he doesn’t realise the true extent to what he’s done, or he’s just really fucking messed up.” Carol hadn’t been with the Avengers for long, but she was  _ pissed _ that Fury was gone because of Thanos, and she was ready to make him pay. 

“I vote for the latter,” Nat said. “He succeeded in wiping out 50% of all living things. Not just humans. The impact that he’s had is literally astronomical.”

“He killed my brother. I want him dead.”

Thor had been sitting there in silence, and no one was sure if he was even listening. He’d lost his planet, his brother, his best friend, and then felt like he hadn’t done enough, that the snap was his fault for not going for Thanos’s head.

“We can’t just go in without a plan,” Steve chimed, “If he still has the stones we won’t stand a chance.”

“Go in, chop his head off, use the stones to bring back everyone. There’s a plan,” Thor replied bluntly.

Tony, who had been listening to all the arguing and frankly had had enough of it, strolled into the room with an air of confidence. Everyone turned to look at him.

“Look, I want to kill this dipshit as much as the rest of you, but we’ve gotta be realistic here, guys. Thanos has  _ all six _ infinity stones. We have a God of Thunder, a grandpa, a couple of dudes in cool iron suits, an assassin, a robot lady, and a giant green guy. We’re like weak little children compared to him.”

“I- I hate to say it, but Tony has a point, and we don’t even have the Hulk anymore, since Thanos terrified him so much.”

“Well, last time you didn’t have me.” Carol smirked. She knew she could definitely take on Thanos. Her power had only increased since the last time she was on Earth, and the Avengers hadn’t seen it in action. “So, we go to this planet that he’s living peacefully on, and we destroy him.”

“Well, if we’re not using my plan, can we at least use my team name? ‘The Revengers’?” Thor asked shyly. He was met with raised eyebrows and slight smiles.

“Hmm... I kind of like that Fury named you guys after me,” Carol replied, “but I’ll take that into consideration.”

 

After fixing up the Guardians’ ship, a few of the survivors boarded it, with Carol and Nebula as the pilots. Steve, Thor, Bruce, Nat, and Rhodey sat restlessly, waiting to arrive at Thanos’s retirement planet. They could barely enjoy the experience of traveling through space, looking at the stars shining brightly and the multitude of planets that were so different to the ones that they knew.

When they did arrive, they found that Thanos was the only inhabitant. The entire place was a lush garden, filled with ripe fruits and giant trees and grass covering most of the ground. The only structure was a small hut made from wood with a straw roof - like a medieval peasant house - nothing luxury. Probably because of Thanos’s self-righteous bullshit, saying he did what he had to do and not what he wanted to.

Carol knocked Thanos down to the ground easily, and the rest of the group charged in, following her lead. The infinity gauntlet was nowhere to be seen, and nor were the stones.

“Who the hell are you?” 

“We’re the Revengers,” Carol replied, “and we’re here to make you pay.”


End file.
